Of the 28 members who cast votes at a special meeting last week, 21 voted in favor, seven voted against, according to CHECU. The credit union has 1,735 members.

The merger still needs to secure approvals from state and federal regulators.

Although CHECU is financially sound, serving its geographically diverse membership is challenging because of the credit union’s size and limited resources, CHECU Board Chair Dennis Travers has said.

If the merger is approved by regulators, CHECU’s branch office will close and the credit union’s three employees will continue to work for Patriot FCU, the credit unions said.

Founded in 1973 as the Chambersburg Hospital Employees Credit Union, it was located in several small offices throughout the hospital. Over the years, additional employee groups joined the credit union and the name was changed to Community of Healthcare Employees in April 1996 and a main office was opened in June 2001.